A Tiger's Tail
by TheLostArcheaologist
Summary: How did the Tiger Talisman end up in the pie in the first place? This story follows a little piece of the Tiger's Tail. Chapter 4 up: the Enforcers' problems might not be simply due to incompetence. Civil reviewers welcome!
1. Chapter 1

The tale of the Tiger doesn't begin here; it begins in ancient China, where it played an instrumental part in banishing a great evil from the face of the world. It continues with being hidden, and found, and lost again, generations never knowing what it really was. It continues with a looting and a rioting; a monk fleeing his monastery with all that he could salvage, and losing it and his life to a band of thieves. It continues with a few dubious pawn shops and an innocent souvenir purchase.

But this is not a story that we have time to tell. Instead, we will quite literally cut to the chase, and find the tail of the Tiger high in the oldest mountains in the world, in a monastery of its own time, where we find a woman and her friends, who play but small parts in the whole grand story, pebbles on the slope of a mountain. But pebbles have fascinating lives of their own, being broken apart and glued back together thousands of times in their lives. And every mountain, if you break it down enough, is nothing more than millions upon billions of pebbles.

So let us move the mind's eye to State College, Pennsylvania, where these pebbles lie.

* * *

Sharon stared at the screen. Somewhere in this ungodly mess of fortran code, was a line that made the whole model fall apart.

The code stared back. It blinked.

Sharon typed a few random keystrokes, pressed control-z, and sat back and rubbed her eyes. "Rough night?" asked the young man sitting at the workstation next to hers.

"Yeah..." she said. "Maybe I should read another book. Or choose another thesis topic. Or another program. Or maybe I should just move to Siberia and herd yaks."

"Sharon," Pete clucked, stood up and rubbed her shoulders. "It'll get better soon."

"Will it now?"

"Well, I'm still waiting myself." Pete tapped on his watch. "But it's about beer-thirty now, and Spider Kelley is on at nine. Coming to the Darkhorse?" He shook her chair urgently. "C'mon, if we don't go now, all of the frat boys will take over!"

"Sounds like a plan." Just as Sharon reached for her purse, her cell phone rang. She flipped it open and held it to her ear. "Hello? Oh, hi Dad." Suddenly a look of horror came over her face.

"What? OK. Yeah. I'm coming home now. I'll give you a call when I'm halfway there. Oh... God, it was like there wasn't anything wrong..." Great big tears welled at the corners of Sharon's eyes. "Yeah. OK. I'll concentrate on driving. It'll be OK. I love you, I love you, I love you, and don't do anything stupid until I get there. Bye."

A now ashen-faced Sharon closed her phone and turned to Pete. "Don't wait up. Aunt Mabs died this afternoon. I have to go home."

"Oh, honey..." Pete gave her a big hug, one that made her feel whole, just for a little while.

Sharon laughed through her tears, and began to play her part in a repeating conversation the two friends had held many times before. "Swear to God, Pete, if you weren't gay..."

"Then you'd never get the courage to talk to me. Go home. Be with your family."

Sharon gave him a brave little smile, and began the long walk back to her apartment.

* * *

_Two months later_

Sharon sighed as she opened the front door; another package. She thought she'd told the mail deliverer to start leaving them around back.

Her great aunt Mabel had never had children of her own, so she treated all of her brothers' as her own, and their children like her grandkids. Out of the ten surviving in her family, there were only three girls, and she had ordained in her will that her jewelry was to be divided up evenly between them. Sharon loved her Aunt Mabs dearly, and missed her every day. Memories still blindsided her; yesterday, she had ordered lunch at the local burger joint, and sat back dumb for a few moments as the realization set in that she had ordered Mabs' meal, right down to the mayo on the cheeseburger. Sharon even had a picture of her in her bedroom that she talked to now and again, as if her great aunt could somehow hear her would-be granddaughter.

But Christ on a unicycle, Sharon would never, ever wear this much jewelry.

Sharon lifted the box; so heavy! Aunt Mabs had remained single throughout life, and without the expenses of kids, she had time and money to travel the world, and her home held all of her souvenirs. Sharon swore that a good archaeologist could have classified at least eighteen different civilizations that had passed through that house. Struggling under the weight, she forced the box inside, sat it on the kitchen table, and got a small knife from the kitchen. She sliced the box open, lifted the flaps, and peered inside.

Sharon's mom was good at packing things; each necklace and set of earrings was in its own little bag, all arranged so that nothing would get tangled. She reached inside and pulled out the first few, when another bang came from the front door. Recognizing the footsteps and the figure silhouetted in the doorway, she shouted over her shoulder, "It's open, David!"

Graduate student housing was scarce in State College, so there were some pretty unusual living arrangements. Her somewhat conservative family wasn't too happy about her living with David at first, but once they met him (and saw some of the other rooms for rent), they bordered on enthusiastic. Sharon rather suspected they wished that he were somewhat less of a roommate and more of a fiancee. However, he was headed back to Australia later that year, so sexy accent aside, there was no chance.

"Ah! Sharon! How was your day?" He kicked off his shoes, and sat his sunglasses on the table by the door.

"Not too bad; finally got that kink in the code worked out. The water table looks much better now." Sharon scooped out a few more bags of earrings, and laid them out for inspection.

"Another package from home?"

"Heh, yeah. I'm getting quite a collection. I think most of these were from Aunt Mab's trip to India. One of them, anyway." Sharon reached in and found something rather large, almost golf-ball sized. "Huh, this is big."

"What is?"

Sharon pulled out the object. It didn't appear to be jewelry, just a small, flat octagon, with a monochrome tiger on it.

"This." Sharon stared at it for a moment and tossed it up and down in her hand. For some reason, it seemed heavier than it actually was. She very carefully put it down on the table apart from the rest of the jewelry.

David walked over and touched it, taking his fingers away quickly as if it were very cold or very hot. "Looks Chinese."

"Maybe that's where it's from, then." Sharon wore a bemused expression on her face as she emptied the rest of the box. She kept glancing back to the tiger, as if expecting it to leap. Somehow, this thing felt... important.

"Going to keep it?"

Sharon thought for a second, and picked the piece up again. "You know what? I think I might."

* * *

Across the continent, something ancient and angry concentrated on this scene, fighting against a veil that seemed to be there at one time and gone the next. He was so close to resolving it, but every time the location was nearly in his grasp, the veil came down again like steel bars, throwing him back into his stony prison. 

He had not gotten it this time; but he had come close enough to know where it could be. The eyes of the dragon shone red, and something between a roar and a hiss sounded remarkably like speech.

"Valmont."


	2. Chapter 2

Becca peered into the doorway of the hydro modeling lab. "Sharon!"

Sharon didn't even hear her. She was typing like a woman posessed, and had been ever since she had gotten that last package, and had taken to carrying the tiger in her pocket. It must be some sort of good luck charm, she had thought after the first set of results had matched with the modern day landscape better than ever before. Now, her advisor, the man who was never happy, was ecstatic about her findings, and was suggesting she start to think about presenting them at one of the national meetings. Two weeks ago, he'd insinuated that she'd never even graduate. Ha! Well, she sure showed-

"Sharon!"

This time Sharon jumped. Not only was Becca right behind her, but the entire lab was looking at her. Pete was rolling his eyes and making goofy faces. "Heh... sorry. Hi Bec."

"Wanna go for Indian food? Chuck's coming, and we've even got Leo out of his office."

"You read my mind, Becca! Anyone else?"

Pete rolled his eyes again. "Not me. Some of us aren't geniuses our advisors love!"

"Hey, it was your turn last week- my turn this week, and Serena's turn starts on Tuesday."

Pete stuck his tongue out. "I'm catching up!"

"Ah, come on, turn off the overclocked music box, and come get some naan."

"But-"

"Now!"

"Oh, fine!" Pete said as he made a show of saving his work. "You're twisting my arm here!"

Now it was Sharon's turn to roll her eyes. "Drama queen."

"Proudly!"

* * *

It had been a very long flight from San Francisco to State College. They had traveled by private jet in the usual style, but that didn't change the fact that not only had they spent nearly twelve hours on a plane, they had landed in a cornfield. In his line of work, Finn had seen his fair share of airstrips in the middle of nowhere, but he hadn't thought that places like these still existed in the United States. He was certain they had passed a cow on the runway. 

The pilot had deplaned earlier, and was finishing arrangements for their ground transportation, leaving Finn and his colleagues, Ratso, Chow, and the new guy Hak Foo, to wait with their luggage. They all tended to travel lightly, and this trip was no different. Except for Ratso who often carried a few toys and comics from his collection, all their suitcases contained were two days' change of clothes, a toothbrush, deodorant, and several "indispensables" that wouldn't have made it even through the most incompetent airport security checkpoint.

They usually traveled by private jet for a reason, and this time was no different. The black Cadillac pulled up outside the general aviation terminal, and waited for the four to secure the bags in the trunk and get inside. Ratso, because of his usual role of dragon-headed staff wielder, took shotgun. Shendu had created the staff some months earlier to aid in finding the missing talismans; it had worked, but only as far as they could keep them away from Chan. Finn grimaced at the thought. Hopefully, they were far enough ahead of him that they'd be able to get this talisman quietly.

Speaking of which... "Ratso, where're we going?"

Ratso held the staff high. It remained dark for a moment longer than anyone was really comfortable with. Ratso grimaced and shook it a few times, as one might shake a flashlight to squeeze the last dregs of battery life out of it. The staff finally flashed to life, and indicated that a talisman was to the northeast. The driver nodded, and pulled out onto the road.

* * *

"So then what happened?" 

The geologists had finally left for lunch, after three email checks and one argument with an advisor. They were well on their way downtown, and Becca was regaling Sharon about a certain problem student. "I failed him, of course. I mean, if he was going to cheat, he should have at least put some effort into it."

"I suppose he did," Sharon waved her arm and sneered. "After all, he did google and copy_ three_ web pages, not just one!"

Becca chuckled, "That wasn't the end of it, though. He wanted to come to office hours and 'discuss' it."

"Oh, that's never good. Male student with entitlement issues, female TA... yeah, I like where this is going."

The light had just changed on College, and the seven scientists going to lunch began to cross. Sharon snickered for a second at the black Cadillac that had slammed on its brakes after going through the intersection. With its confusing and inconsistent network of one-way streets, downtown State College was not an easy town to get turned around if you suddenly found you were going the wrong direction.

"So did I," Becca responded sarcastically. "I was prepared, though; I changed the meeting place to the petrology lab."

Sharon knotted her brow. "But you're seismology!"

Becca grinned, "But Chuck is mineralogy." Sharon looked up at Becca's boyfriend; at almost seven feet, he towered over everyone else in the group. However, all of that seven feet was pure height; Sharon doubted that the lanky Chuck could intimidate anyone.

"Did it stop him?"

"No, he still got pissy and entirely out of hand. It ended up that Ashley stepped in and gave him a piece of her mind."

Sharon busted out laughing; Ashley was a four-foot-seven spelunker with a sailor's vocabulary and a tough-girl attitude roughly the size of Kansas. She tried to imagine the expression on the problem student's face as he got cussed out by someone who looked like she should still be in middle school. "Hoo boy..."

"It was the funniest thing I've seen all year!" Becca stated as they turned down the alley. "He ran- not walked, _ran_- out of there with his tail between his legs so fast he almost missed when the hearing was!"

"What was his name again? Just so I know who to use the Beating Stick on if he doesn't get kicked out and ends up in my class."

"Mike Ichigo," Becca said, "Not a really common name around here to begin with, but you'll know him. He likes to be called MC Cobra."

Sharon did a double take. "You serious?"

"Unfortunately."

"Did you?"

"Hell no!"

"Thank you," Sharon said as they descended the stairs and entered the restaurant. "I can't believe it. I'd volunteer to be a character witness for you at the academic dishonesty hearing, just so I can see this guy!"

Becca giggled. "If it comes to that, you'll be the first one I ask!" The maitre'd, Venkot, guided them to their usual, huge table, and left. The geologists were always popular around the Indian food joints in State College- they often gave compliments, left tips even for a buffet, and for such a large party, kept their table relatively clean. Most of the time, they ended up at this particular restaurant, Venkot knew them on a first name basis. Becca took her seat next to Chuck; Sharon put her purse on the seat between her and Leo, and got in line for the buffet.

"MC Cobra," she groaned, shaking her head. "What next?

* * *

This just wasn't Bill's day. 

He had been contracted, for a very lucrative sum, to fly a plane for someone who kept out of the light and employed people who were large enough to block it. He rolled his eyes, and not for the last time, regretted the DUI that had earned him a dishonorable discharge. Kicking the MP who arrested him probably didn't help, either. But in any case, he was now driving a car filled with large, violent, and now angry men through a podunk college town that seemed to be composed entirely of one-way alleys.

"You're going the wrong way!" Ratso yelled from the passenger seat. "It's back there!"

"Turn this boat around, now!" Finn ordered as he leaned over the seat.

"It's a one-way street!" Bill protested, "I need to go around!"

"Then turn left here!" Chow said, pointing at the street sign in front of them.

"That's one-way, too!"

"You really care about traffic laws?" Finn growled.

"Well, unless you want to attract the cops' attention right off the bat-"

"TURN THIS CAR AROUND!"

Only Hak Foo remained silent, but he was the one that Bill was the most worried about. Bill was quite certain that he'd never heard him speak except in terms of a battle cry. He had seen him fight before, however, and from that day forward he'd vowed never to get on the warrior's bad side. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure that he had a good side.

After a few near misses with pedestrians, three red lights in a row, and a few minutes of heading exactly the wrong direction, Bill stopped at the intersection where Ratso had noticed the change in the staff. "Stay here," Finn commanded as he, Ratso and Chow exited the vehicle. Bill stared for a moment and pointed at the no parking sign. "You're kidding, right?" Finn asked. "No? Fine. Go be useful and find a hotel. I think I saw one at the end of the one way street- one of them, anyway."

Relieved to be rid of them, Bill nearly squealed tires as he drove off, only to realize that he hadn't left behind the one Enforcer that scared him the most. Hak Foo sat in the back, glaring at him with silent contempt.

Bill cleared his throat, and attempted to fill the uncomfortable silence. "So... heh... how about them Bears?"

The words were like a raindrop with big dreams of being an ocean falling in Death Valley. Bill immediately shut up when Hak Foo began growling. It really just wasn't his day...

* * *

"I'm so full..." Leo groaned. 

"Me too," echoed Sharon as she sat back. "Can one of you roll me back up the hill?"

"Only if you return the favor," Leo chuckled.

Chuck stood up, pulled out his wallet, opened it and immediately shut it, embarrassed. "Can you guys wait for me here? I've got to run to the ATM."

Becca reached for her purse. "Oh, no, I can-"

"No way- it was your turn last time!" Dan started walking away, then turned around. "I'll be right back!" He walked out the door to no protest from the staff. The table stared blankly after him for a moment; he was up to something. Finally, Leo turned around.

"So, what did you think of last night's episode of Galaxia?" The conversation topic quickly turned to a human colony fighting for survival in space against mysterious aliens and each other, and Chuck's disappearance was all but forgotten.

* * *

Ratso led the Enforcers, following the indications of the staff. Normally, he'd be a bit worried about who would see, but not only were they a thousand miles from Chan, but he'd just seen a guy in a gorilla suit go by on a bicycle towing a trailer with a sign reading "Why are you still driving?" Other people hadn't even looked twice, so he assumed they were used to some pretty strange things. He was a bit worried about the staff itself- it was acting erratically. It was slower in starting, the light wasn't quite as bright as it used to be, and it flickered every so often, like a handheld game low on batteries. The thought had crossed his mind in the car that maybe whatever Shendu used to power it was running down. 

He stopped as the right-hand head of the staff indicated a change in direction toward a split-level building; downstairs looked to be an Indian restaurant, but upstairs...

Finn passed him and walked up the steps to the jewelry store. "Come on- let's get it and get out of here." He looked at Chow, shrugged, put the staff inside his jacket, and followed his colleague. Inside at the counter was a very tall, lanky man paying for a purchase; it appeared safe to assume that the store was run by the same family that ran the Indian restaurant downstairs. Ratso snuck another look at the staff- still indicating the right direction- he nodded at Finn. The salesman looked up at them and said, "Hi, be right with you. There you go, sir- hope she likes it!"

The man looked in the bag, grinning. "She will- it's her favorite animal!" He passed the Enforcers on the way out as the salesman turned in their direction.

He smiled pleasantly. "How can I help you gentlemen?"

"We're looking for something very specific. We've received information that you've recently acquired a piece like this, with an engraving of a tiger." Finn passed the salesman a photo of the sheep talisman, now safely nested in Shendu's stone body. "My very wealthy employer is interested in purchasing this from you."

The salesman took the photo and examined it closely. "Hmm... I don't remember seeing this before. I'm sorry, I don't think I have anything like this."

"Really?" Finn asked. It wasn't a question. He nodded at Ratso, who immediately backed into a pedestal, knocking a necklace display off and shattering the glass on the ground.

In a small college town in the middle of nowhere, anyone who is even slightly different can be a target. People who arrive to suddenly find themselves a minority tend to adapt fairly quickly in order to defend themselves against locals with Ideas and drunken fratboys and those who would turn on someone for being the wrong religion or having the wrong color skin. The salesman in question was in fact second-generation American and had been born in New Jersey, but he had learned this lesson dearly. Needless to say, the Enforcers were a bit surprised to see the rifle.

"Out! Out of my shop! OUT!" The angry battlecries of the salesman followed the Enforcers out of the doorway as they barreled down the steps at high speed. "And if I ever see you again, I'm calling the police!" The door to the shop slammed and locked behind them as the salesman turned the "Open" sign over, and went for a broom to sweep up the pieces.

Finn brushed himself off and looked up; a small crowd of students had gathered on the sidewalk and was now watching them. Finn glared at the audience, and recognized one as the man who had just walked out of the shop. One of the women looked at each of them in turn, shrugged, and walked away with a sort of swagger. The rest of them, mercifully, followed.

"Damn," he muttered. "We've got to get in there. Any ideas?"

Ratso looked inside his jacket again, "Uhm, no we don't." He held the staff out; the head pointing towards the retreating students was now glowing.


	3. Chapter 3

"I wonder what that was all about?" David asked as they crossed College again.

"Beats me," said Pete. "Probably a bunch of Local Yokels trying to play 'intimidate the immigrant' to get stuff free. Bet Mr. Anantharam _really_ liked that."

Leo snorted. "He's probably been here longer than they have!"

"Must never have been down to the gun range," Pete muttered.

"No kidding," Sharon shook her head, "And what was he wearing?" She caught a couple of looks that her friends were throwing at her. "Oh, come on! You were all thinking it!"

Pete leaned over her shoulder and looked down. "Says the girl wearing those."

Sharon looked at her feet. She was wearing boots today, unusual on anyone for this warm weather. They were very good quality hiking boots, and looked more like they had been constructed in a shipyard than made in a factory. The soles were nearly a half-inch thick. She looked up again and shrugged. "I'm breaking them in."

"Oh yeah?"

"I am!"

Becca rolled her eyes and decided that now would be a great time to change the subject. "Guys! Want to get some coffee?"

"Nah, not right now," Sharon sighed, and threw her arms around Pete and Leo. "The three of us have to get back and work on our group presentation for the paleoclimate seminar."

"And I have to get back to Mat Sci," David groaned as he pushed his sunglasses back up his nose. "I have to make sure the fume hood hasn't exploded." Sharon nodded in understanding; David and her had had many conversations about the nasty chemicals he had been working with.

"You sure?" Becca pleaded.

Chuck felt in his jacket pocket for the necklace he'd just purchased for Becca's birthday. He'd wanted to give it to her in private. "They're sure!" he said.

Everyone, including Becca turned to look at him. She fixed him with a look that let him know she was _sure_ he was up to something. "All right," she said, "let's get back- I've got to work too." They waved goodbye to David as he walked the opposite direction, and they began the hike back to the office.

"Hey Becca," Sharon said, "I've been meaning to ask you- did you ever get that seismic motion generation code worked out?"

"Yeah, it only took a month!" She said as the crew started off up the hill again. "It was all a problem with the x-direction discretization. As it turns out, I chose the wrong step size to average over- x and x plus one instead of x minus one and x plus one..."

* * *

The Enforcers waited impatiently for the light to cross College avenue. "He must have bought it!" Finn said. "That's the only explanation- he walked out just when we got there! 'It's her favorite animal'- I should have known!"

"At least we know where he's going," Chow retorted. "Don't we?" He looked at the staff Ratso was holding; the glowing head was pointing north. Or possibly east; Chow couldn't tell anymore, and in any case the staff was glowing so faintly that it appeared dim in the sunlight. That, he decided, should not be happening, but chose not to say anything about it.

Classes had just let out, so the campus walkways were jammed with students. The Enforcers rushed through the crowds, shoving and elbowing those who were in their way. They were in no hurry to face either the wrath of Shendu or Valmont again for failing to recover yet another talisman. As they rounded a corner next to a duck pond, they saw the group they were looking for entering a building. They slowed to a walk in unison as they approached. The target wasn't alone; this had to be done carefully.

The elevator lobby was full of students when they pushed open the door, but devoid of the particular tall man they were looking for. "He's here somewhere," Ratso said, risking a glance at the staff, which confirmed it.

Finn walked down the hall, peering into some of the rooms. The ground floor of the building had been converted into a museum. Here was a dinosaur footprint, there a few paintings of coal mining and industry. A few gem-quality stones caught his eye- nothing too fancy, but perhaps respectable enough for a second look later. Finally, he found a poster with names and faces of people who, by the title, worked in the university's geology department. He scanned it for a moment, found a few faces he recognized, and one he was very interested in: "Chuck Roman- Room 312," he said to his companions as he rushed to the stairs. "Let's go!"

The Enforcers raced up the stairs, and got to the third floor in time to see Chuck walk out of his office and down the hall. He had his hand in his jacket pocket, clutching something. He didn't appear to notice anyone, much less the Enforcers. He made a turn into a room three doors down. There was someone else in there; Finn could make out voices as the three drew closer. "New plan," he whispered. "We run in, we grab the talisman, and we run out. We're gone before anyone can see us."

As they approached the door, they could make out more and more of the conversation. "... and well, since I was going to be in Brookhaven for the next two weeks... well, happy birthday Becca."

There was a rustle of paper being unwrapped and a female gasp. How sweet. The fire demon sorcerer's talisman was going to be a birthday present. Finn was sure he was going to hurl.

"Oh Chuck- it's beautiful!"

"I hoped you'd like it," Chuck said.

"Get ready," Finn whispered.

"Oh, I do! You know how much I love-"

The enforcers' hands rose to grab their weapons of choice, and prepared to charge...

"-dolphins!"

Ratso stopped dead as he entered the doorway, and saw the woman holding up a dolphin pendant made of blue stone. She turned, and all hands that had paused inches away from their weapons of choice very slowly lowered. The two students and the three Enforcers stared at each other for a long moment before Ratso saw fit to speak. "Uhm... where's your bathroom?"

A heartbeat passed before both Chuck and Becca pointed in unison to the Enforcers' left. They each muttered a hurried "Thanks," before rushing off.

* * *

Sharon, Leo, and Pete sat around the table in what was officially known as the third floor conference room, and commonly called the B. O. room. It was the smallest useable space in the building, and the one chosen most often for committee meetings and small seminar presentations. Over the years of use, it had absorbed the smell of anxious students facing annoyed professors, and radiated it out into the hallway. Unfortunately, it was also the only room available this time of day.

Leo took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Okay. So what we've basically got is two hardheaded professors taking the same evidence, and coming up with two different interpretations regarding the composition of the atmosphere in the Precambrian. One of them is my advisor."

"Yeah, but your advisor is wrong. There's no way pyrite could have formed in an oxygenated subaerial environment," Sharon said.

"But if it's _not_ subaerial?"

"Well, then you'd have something. But those deposits in Australia are barrier island complexes."

"And they've been metamorphosed to heck and back, so there's no really good way to tell if you're right or not," Pete said as he slumped over the table, flicking a pencil and letting it roll back toward him. "Why did I take this class, again?"

"Because we need it to graduate," Sharon replied, copying his pose. "Look, I doubt it's hydrothermal, the way that stuff is bedded."

"Maybe we should turn this presentation into a debate format," Leo said. "You take the 'no-oxygen' side and I'll take the 'oxygen' side."

"It'll impress your advisor..." Sharon mused.

"What about me? This is a three-man group. Well, two man and one lady, anyway," grunted Pete.

"Introduction?" Leo suggested.

Pete shrugged. "Works for me."

Leo looked at his watch. "Uh, Pete? We have to get going. We're going to be late for Science Lions at Penns Valley. Sure you don't want to come with us, Sharon?" He stood up and collected the papers covering his side of the table.

"Nah," Sharon replied as she grabbed her backpack. "I didn't like teenage girls when I _was_ a teenage girl. You two have fun, and we'll hit this again in the evening."

"Slave-driver," Pete teased.

"Proudly!" Sharon grinned at the boys as they followed her out of the room. "So, what did you think of the Roustabout band last night?"

"They had a pretty good sound," Leo said, "I wish they'd played more original music, though. Cover bands come by the dozen around here."

"Yeah, but their selection of '80's cheese was still good," Pete said, "_Tell me what's the word, word up!_"

* * *

Finn stared in the mirror over the sink; this day was definitely not going as planned. "What happened back there?"

"He didn't have it." Chow, master of the obvious.

"No duh," Finn said. "Why did the staff show it on him? I mean, he walked out of the jewelry store..." Finn's face lit up as he considered another possibility. "Unless... "

"Unless it was never in the jewelry store..." Chow finished the thought as Finn turned around.

"Ratso, which way is that thing pointing now?"

Ratso pulled out the staff; the glowing head was pointing directly to the door to the hallway, from which emanated faint sounds of bad singing. Slowly, Ratso reached for the handle, and pulled the door open a crack for he, Chow and Finn to see out of.

Outside were two familiar men and one familiar woman- Finn recognized her as the girl that shrugged. With her was the blonde man, and the skinny nerdy guy with glasses that were in the group of students from the Indian restaurant. They were dancing as they were waiting for the elevator.

"_...do your dance, do your dance quick! Mama, come on baby tell me what's the word, word up!"_

The elevator bell sounded, and the three walked into the open car, laughing. "I'm glad I have you guys- there's not many people I could geek out like this with!" the woman said as the door closed.

Ratso pulled the door open the rest of the way and the three Enforcers looked at each other. "Follow them," they said in unison as they headed for the stairs.

* * *

Sharon waved goodbye to Pete and Leo as they headed for Leo's vehicle. It was insane the way they made students park at the football stadium, especially grad students who often worked on the campus as well, but there wasn't much that could be done about it. Sharon was extremely happy that she lived close enough to campus to be able to walk every day.

She looked up into the blue sky of the unusually warm late fall day. Better enjoy it while she could- winter was coming fairly quickly, and she was sure she wouldn't see grass again from December to March. She probably should be working, but she decided that an afternoon like this was better spent sitting in a coffee shop and reading the newspaper. She could work when it was cold.

"Webster's or Saints?" she mused aloud. Both were equally good in terms of sheer caffeine and quality of desserts, and she considered herself to be a regular at both. Making the choice the way she normally did, she reached into her pocket, and pulled out the flat octagon with the engraving of a tiger. "Heads, Webster's, tails, Saints," she said aloud as she flipped it like a coin. It flew up to an impressive height over her head, and landed in her palm, tiger side up.

"Webster's it is," she said as she pocketed it again and headed for downtown.

Ratso, who had been watching from the entrance to the building the whole time, followed.


	4. Chapter 4

Sharon got her normal latte, a chocolate chip cookie, and sat down in her favorite table in the corner with a newspaper. She was a geek in a combination coffeehouse and bookstore. All was well. Well, except for this little niggling thought in the back of her brain; she had missed something.

What could it be? She was done teaching for the week and had a few days to grade- besides, she really didn't feel like seeing how badly her students had mangled the nitrogen cycle at the moment. She couldn't work on the paleoclimate presentation without Pete and Leo, and her thesis was far enough along that she could take a break. She had even unplugged the toaster oven this morning. The big things out of the way, she tried to relax, and found she couldn't. Something was_very_ wrong. Sharon scanned the other patrons; a few students bashing away on their laptops, lots of people reading, a couple having a conversation in French, and out front, someone having a cell phone conversation... nothing out of the ordinary, but the warning light in her brain was still blinking.

Then the man outside hung up his phone and walked in for a cup of coffee. Ah. The attempted jewel thief from earlier. That was it. Well, it wasn't like she could call the cops without any proof, and Mr. Anantharam was smart enough to have done that already. She took a bite of her cookie, and considered getting her next cup to go as she opened the paper to the next-to-last page and finished the article.

When she next turned the page, the warning light in her brain went red; the man was watching her, and he wasn't being shy or discreet about it, either. Sharon decided that at this point, she'd like to call a friend. She put down the paper, dug her cell phone out of her backpack, and dialed Leo's number while overruling the flight-or-fight response her body was preparing. He answered on the third ring. "Sharon! What's up? I can't really talk- I'm driving."

Sharon turned to face the wall. "You know Mr. Anantharam's well-dressed friends?" Sharon said softly into the cell phone. "One of 'em's here."

"What?"

"You heard me. Guess who I'm calling next?"

Leo sighed and responded to Pete's interrogative. "The thieves from this afternoon are following Sharon. Look. Don't move. I'm in my car now on Beaver, we're a block away. I'm coming to pick you up."

"Right. See you in a minute." Sharon put the phone down and considered the situation. The man was between her and the door, but Sharon was pretty sure that she could slip out the back door to the alley that intersected with Beaver. Yeah, that would be even better- she could meet Leo's car there.

* * *

Ratso watched Sharon leave her newspaper and half-eaten cookie on the table, pick up her backpack and head for the back. The restrooms were back there, true, but there was probably a back door as well. He sent a text message to Finn with this information and sat back to finish his coffee. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long; they'd passed a comic shop on the way, and the new issue of Gnomecop had just come out. He was looking forward to some down time for once. He waited a few minutes, and then followed her into the bookstore section, idly wondering if they had the omnibus edition.

* * *

Okay. So far, so good. Sharon had made it through the stacks without being followed. This meant either that the thief either knew about the back door, or that he was just looking at her because he thought she was cute. Sharon found both of those prospects disturbing, so the best course of action was to beat a hasty retreat as soon as she could.

Sharon opened the door slowly and peered up the sloping alley; a dumpster, a few trash cans, a sign for the hair salon on Beaver, no one else. It appeared that she was Scot free; she let the door close behind her and walked down the few low steps to the street.

"Excuse me."

Sharon quickly realized that she had not looked _down_ the alley. She turned around. The smooth voice had come from the red-haired man in the disco getup behind her. His identity was unmistakable- the jewel thief with the questionable fashion sense. He was smiling in a very friendly way, which unnerved Sharon even further. Smiles like that from people like him tended to mean his buddy was behind you ready to stick a knife between your shoulders when he gave the signal. She glanced over her shoulder; as predicted, the dark haired man with the black suit and sunglasses had just stepped out from behind the dumpster. Great. She had collected the whole set. Now how to get rid of them?

"Er... I, uh... I didn't see anything," she endeavored, and began to walk up the hill. The man in the black suit blocked her path. "Um... wrong answer?"

"Oh, we don't care about what you saw," the redhead said as he reduced some of the distance between himself and Sharon, "but you've got something we want."

Sharon turned so that her back faced the wall- less room to run, but she couldn't be hit from behind- and raised her hands in surrender. "Look- I'm a college student. That means I don't have any money, and my credit cards are maxed. You're trying to get blood from a stone here."

"We don't want money," the man in the black suit said calmly as he advanced.

If Sharon had been in possession of all the facts, she probably wouldn't have turned as ghost-white as she did upon hearing this. Of course, if Sharon _was_ in possession of all the facts, she would have never been in this position to start with. Sharon had met her current roommate when she had discovered his unsecured wireless network, knocked on doors until she found him, and offered to help him set up a firewall. She would have likely sought out Jackie Chan and handed over the tiger talisman to Section 13 immediately if she had known what it was and what was at stake.

Sharon was not in possession of all the facts, and therefore came to the wrong conclusion, but responded with the correct reaction. Her right foot lashed out, and the extremely well made boot on it connected solidly with one man's shin. As he fell back hopping, she stepped in to the red-haired man's rush and gave him an elbow to the stomach for his trouble. With both thugs reeling for the moment at the unexpected self-defense, the other half of Sharon's fight-or-flight response kicked in and she bolted for the street uphill of the alley.

* * *

It was at this moment that Ratso opened the back door to the coffeeshop, and saw his limping and otherwise incapacitated friends. He immediately thought of Jackie Chan, and braced himself for the attack he was certain would come. Movement to his left drew his attention, and he saw the target making tracks up the alley. He reminded himself that Chan was currently on the other side of the continent and gave chase. The woman turned around briefly, yelped something, and attempted to run faster up the hill. She still had a good ten yards on him when she hit the sidewalk at the top of the hill, but it didn't matter; as long as nothing unexpected happened, he'd catch up with her fairly quickly, and if he didn't, his quickly recovering associates would _certainly_ want to have words with her.

A small red car screeched to a halt in front of the entrance to the alley, and the woman almost ran smack into it. The driver, a short, blond-haired man with very thick glasses shouted something, and she opened the back door. "Hey!" Ratso shouted, but it was too late. The woman slammed the door shut and was almost immediately thrown to the other side of the vehicle as the driver made a left turn of questionable legality onto the intersecting street. Fortunately, there was only one way they could go from there.

"That way!" Ratso said as he pointed toward the other Enforcers. "She's got a car!" As Finn and Chow both turned to run toward the one-way street at the bottom of the hill, Finn pulled out his phone; time to bring in the heavy machinery.

* * *

Sharon huffed and panted as she sat up in the backseat. Pete sat in the front passenger seat and was staring at her in the mirror, shaking his head. "Sharon, is there some definition of 'don't move' that I'm not aware of?"

"Yes," Sharon said, "the one where they start chasing you." Her hand shook as she reached across and put on her seatbelt out of force of habit.

"What the hell happened?" Leo asked as they rolled to a stop at a red light.

"The one in the coffeeshop got between me and the door- I wanted to lose him before I met up with you guys, so I went out the back and the other two were waiting!"

"Oh hey, look at that- they're coming out of the alley," Pete said as he looked in the mirror. "Boy, do they look pissed."

"That was a dumb move- you could have gotten yourself killed!" Leo scolded.

"Yeah. Almost did. Won't do it again!" Sharon shouted, "I was trying to keep you guys out of it!"

"Huh- they're out in the street. What's that car doing?"

"Well, we're still in it, and now you've pissed them off!"

There was a moment of silence that was only broken by Pete. "Oh... ohhh. Uh, Leo? They've got a car. You might want to run this one."

* * *

Finn swore as the small red car leapt off the line before the light had changed. "They saw us! Go!"

Bill looked around at the assembled Enforcers; Finn was riding shotgun, giving orders as he normally did, while Ratso and Chow were seated in the back. Things had obviously not gone as planned. He had been roused from his parking spot where he had been ordered to wait with the vehicle so fast that he hadn't been able to alert Hak Foo as to where he was going and why. This was going to make a bad day considerably worse for him, but at least he had company. They wouldn't have called him unless Charlie was really dancing the Foxtrot, and from the way Chow was rubbing his leg, it appeared that he had stepped right on his toes.

Bill turned on the equipment that would jam cellular phone signals for a thirty meter radius, pressed the pedal down, and hoped that they wouldn't run into any cops. That was the last thing he needed.

* * *

"Where the hell are all the cops today?" Pete was freaking out in the passenger seat. "Did a donut shop open in Bellefonte?" Leo's little red Hyundai had just beaten a record by speeding, running red lights, and generally driving recklessly from downtown State College to the city limits without seeing a police car, much less getting pulled over. Unfortunately, that appeared to be the only way they could communicate their predicament to anyone; everyone's cell phone was getting patchy signal for some reason, and they couldn't even place an emergency call.

Sharon looked around at Pete and Leo; they were scared stiff but trying not to be. They had reached the small town of Pine Grove Mills, but hadn't yet lost their pursuers. "I- I can take 'em through Rothrock," Leo suggested as he made the hard left to do so. "There's so many back roads through there, if we can get around a corner, we'll lose 'em." The coke-bottle glasses did a poor job of hiding how nervous he was. Sharon looked back at the road, and then down at her boots.

"Drop me off at the Jostens trailhead."

Leo took his eyes off the road for a second to stare at her in disbelief. "What? You're crazy!"

"I'm not. You said it yourself- Rothrock is huge. You need a map to find your way around the roads- do you think they'd know the trails?"

Leo shook his head. "No- no way. I'm not leaving you behind. Friends don't let friends get chased by jewel thieves through the state forest."

"And friends don't let friends get shot at because they're driving the car!" Sharon looked up, saw the grade sign that was next to the trailhead. "Now! Stop now!" Sharon didn't give Leo much of a choice; she flung open the door before Leo had completely stopped, and he didn't doubt that she would have taken a flying leap from the moving vehicle if he had kept going. She unfastened her seat belt, grabbed her backpack, and slammed the door. "I'll call you when I'm out. Now get out of here!"

"But-" Leo tried to protest.

"Go!"

The urgency in Sharon's voice caused Leo to put the pedal down more quickly than he was prepared to, and the car nearly leapt off down the hill. Sharon stood by the road, waiting for the Cadillac to crest, and she was off. There was no time to waste; the service road leading up to the trailhead was short, but if they were going to catch her, they would catch her here. She rounded the bend, approaching the cell phone towers and equipment shacks perched on the ridge like giant steel vultures.

"Hey! There she is!"

Oh dear. She hadn't expected them to be quite that quick. Somehow, she willed another burst of speed out of her legs and powered up the deteriorating trail. They were gaining; she could hear their footsteps, but the good part was coming up. A few more feet uphill...

Ah!

The boulder field loomed in front of her; it was normally an imposing feature, but today Sharon welcomed it like an old friend. The talus slope would slow down her pursuers, and the ridge was uneven enough that she would be able to disappear in the mountains fairly quickly. Sharon leapt just as the fastest man was getting close enough to attempt a tackle, and was up the hill before the other two could catch up.

Left- pink boulder! Right- grey! Unstable rock at 2:00! She had done it before, but never this fast! Never so well! Her feet flew over the rocks like the hawks riding the thermals in the valley.

Contrast that with the three Enforcers, still at the base of the slope, cursing the rocks and trapping their own feet. "Forget this!" Finn despaired. "Ratso, where's she going?"

Ratso reached inside his coat and pulled out the four-headed staff that was supposed to help them find the talisman. He held it high and a look of intense concentration washed over his face. However, in this case, "supposed to" was the operative phrase. All four dragon mouths flashed in unison, like a digital clock after an electricity outage.

The three Enforcers looked at each other with growing horror. Chow cleared his throat. "Draw straws to see who gets to call Big V about it?

* * *

Both humans and demons know that the Appalachian mountains are incredibly old. Humans from radioactive isotopes, magnets, and the vagaries of physical laws that govern the earth; demons because they were always there to see. And in all the time they existed, no demon lord had ever held sway over any portion of the mountains for more than a period of six months, not even Po Kong, who supposedly lorded over all mountains. There were many excuses given as the demons who had attempted sidled away from the question of why they had failed; too hot, too cold, too wet, too many trees and not enough people, and the people who were there didn't even have the decency to stand still and let themselves be dominated.

But the truth is that there are some things more powerful than even demons.


End file.
